Prices of Tourist Services for Foriegner Visitors and Bulgarians to be Equal

21 September 2005, Wednesday.

The prices of all tourist services in Bulgaria are set to be equal for Bulgarians and foreign visitors by the end of this year under amendments to the tourism law.

The Bulgarian Cabinet approved the amendments to the law at a session on Wednesday. Under the new rules, violators will be imposed fines raging from BGN 1,000 to BGN 15,000.

The different prices for Bulgarian and foreign tourists were considered as a discrimination by the European Union and Bulgaria was asked to make some changes in its legislation, before joining the Union in 2007.

The decision to equalize the prices of the tourist services may turn out to be critical for most Bulgarian tourists, who have enjoyed their lower prices up to this moment.

Also on Wednesday the Cabinet decided to restore the Tourism Authority. The tourism sector was transferred under the helm of the Culture Ministry by the previous government and stayed there for less than half a year.

Now the former Tourism Authority, with the rank of state agency, is reinstated as a secondary budget organization.

The tourism sector has turned into a main one for Bulgaria's economy. A total of 3,512,543 foreigners visited Bulgaria from January to August this year, up by 6.33 % compared to the same period last year.

Best Bulgarian Estates Ltd,